Dosage time indicating means



Oct. 3l, 1950 J. s. ANNUNZIATA 2,528,259

DOSAGE TIME INDICATING MEANS Filed Feb. 12, 1947 E 4 JONE @WML V y ..1 umm omo/1 .wane on u. "..BIERY E.

Patented Oct. 31, 1950 UNITED vSTATES PATENT OFFICE DOSAGE TIME INDICATING MEANS Jasper S. Annunziata, Oak Park, Ill.

Application February 12, 1947, Serial No. 728,092

Claims. (Cl. 116-121) This invention relates to improvements in dosage time indicatingmeans and it consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Medicinal preparations, as prescribed by physicians, are compounded by a pharmacist who provides the container, usually a glass bottle, for the preparation. The pharmacist applies to the container, a pasted label, that usually bears his name, and inscribes upon the label matter relating to the size of the dose and the time periods in the terms of hours between doses, being information set forth in the prescription.

A number of proposals have heretofore been made to show or indicate when the next dose shall be taken. However, in some instances the means have been expensive. In other cases, special die cut labels are required, which are not conventional and hence are relatively expensive to obtain and use. In some instances the proposed means utilizes a part of the label, which is normally required to identify the lpharmacist and to carry the ynecessary dosage instructions, which prevents use upon containers Vofnormal size.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide low cost, simple, and efcient means to be carried by the container for the medicinal preparation to visibly show or indicate after each use or dose, the time for the next use or dose and whereby regularity of usage and dosage may be afforded.

Another object'of the invention is to provide a means of this kind which may be used in connection with the conventional pasted-on label,

thereby avoiding the necessity of using expensive labels requiring especial modes of application to the container, and which also require more time to apply and which may be more readily displaced from Vthe container in the ordinary handling it receives.

The above mentioned objects of the invention, as well as others, together with the advantages thereof, will `more fully appear as the specification proceeds.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a container for a fluid-like medicinal preparation, in the form of a conventional glass medicine bottle, to which my improved use or dosage time indicating means has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through a part of the container appearing in Fig. 1, as taken on the line 2-2 thereof and on a scale enlarged thereover. p

Fig. 3 iS a perspective View of a time period indicating strip or band embodied in the improved means and which will be more fully referred to later.

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of a container for medicinal preparations in pill or tablet form, to which the improved use or dosage time indicating means may be applied.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the container appearing in Fig. 4 as taken on the line 5--5 thereof and on a scale enlarged thereover.

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation of a container having a modified arrangement embodying the invention.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing and especially to Figs. l, 2 and 3 thereof, the container for the medicinal preparation, which is indicated as a whole by the numeral III is in the form of a glass bottle, the body of which is of la rectangular cross section and is provided at the top with a tubular neck II to receive a cap I2. The body includes front and rear walls I3 and I4 and side walls I5 and on upper portion of the front wall there is adhesively applied a paper label I6. Said label has printed thereon the name of the pharmacy in which the preparation was compounded, by prescription, and upon which is inscribed in a suitable manner, indicia I1 indicating the size of the dose to be taken and length of time between successive doses. This label is provided at centrally of its lower margin with an indicator point I8 and associated therewith is the legend Next dose. These labels are thus ordinary flat prescription labels which can be printed without any greater expense than the conventional label which they may duplicate except for the legend Next Dose and the pointer or arrow.

In some' instances the preparation may be one that settles out in the bottle and requires a shaking before each dose. Under such a, condition the pharmicist applies a so-called Shake Well Before Using label I9, to the lower part of the front wall so as to leave a space between the bottom edge of the label I6 and the top edge of the label I9. This latter label, like the label I is usually supplied on its back with an adhesive for attaching it in place vto said wall of the bottle.

In connection with the label I6 I employ an endless strip or band 2li, which surrounds the body IIJ of the container in the space between the labels I6 and I9. Preferably, this band is of substantially the Width of said space and its top and bottom edges engage the bottom and top edges label i6.

of the labels I6 and i9 and therefore is held in place against movement vertically of the body.

This band is preferably constituted of a strip of paper, shown in Fig. 3, of a length greater than the circumference of the body of the largest size of container or bottle employed for prescribed medicinal preparations. It is provided on one face with a series of longitudinally spaced numerals 2l which, in this instance, run from i to I2 inclusive and which indicate twelve hours of the day. Halfway between every two adjacent numerals are marks 21A, which indicate half hour periods. By cutting off suitable pieces from the end or ends of the strip or band, it may be reduced to the length required to t it to the size of container or bottle with which it is to be used. In applying the strip to the bottle, it is wrapped around the body, at the space between the labels I6 and I9 and then the adhesive 22 thereon is moistened and overlapped upon the other end of f the strip to produce the endless band. When applied, as mentioned, the band may be shifted circumferentially of the body without falling away therefrom.

Assume that at the time one dose of the preparation is given a patient, say at oclock, the attendant or even the patient himself shifts the band circumferentially of the body to bring the numeral 6 into line with the pointer i8 on the This indicates the time at which the next dose of the preparation is to be taken, and which would be 6 oclock. If the dose is to be taken at some half hour period then the band is shifted so that the appropriate mark ZIA is directly below the pointer I8.

In Fig. 4, the band, which is indicated at 2), as before, is shown as applied to a round bottle Il)a for medical preparations in pill or tablet form. Such a bottle is devoid of any Shake Well Before Using label I9, before mentioned, but may have a small adhesive strip or label 24 below the time band, which will prevent the time band from slipping off. This label 24 may carry any desired instruction, such as Keep tightly closed. such a bottle the band is disposed adjacent the bottom edge of the label, which is indicated at I 6, as before. Fig. 5 shows the overlapping of the strip at 23 to provide the endless band that encompasses the bottle circumferentially.

In Fig. 6, 30 indicates a conventional medicinal container, 3l is a label affixed to the body of the container and is or may be like the label it illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4., except that the legend Next Dose and the indicator I8 are arranged at the top of the label instead of the bottom. The band which is like the band 263 specically illustra-ted in detail in Fig. 3, surrounds the body of the container, and is movable in the manner heretofore described with reference to the forms of the invention previously mentioned. Since `in this form the time band 2t is positioned above the prescription label, the upper edge 32 of the prescription label provides an abutment preventing the band from moving downward, which would be the direction it might otherwise tend to move, when being manipulated. Hence this arrangement is somewhat better adapted for use without the second label than where the time band is placed below the prescription label.

The improved means may be used in connection with the inexpensive conventional pharmacists full size pasted-on label provided with the indicating pointer I3 and the legend Next Dose. Such labels do not require the use of any special die cut openings or other special configuration to With receive the time indicating strip or means. Hence the arrangement is less expensive to produce, is less difficult to apply, and makes available the full area for the necessary inscriptions, pharmacists name, etc.

While in describing the invention I have referred in detail to the form and arrangement of the parts involved, the same is to be considered only in the illustrative sense and therefore I do not wish to be limited thereto except as may be specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination-With a container for medicinal preparations of a label member fixed to the outer surface of the body of the container and having a crosswise disposed edge portion positioned above the bottom of the container, a band member surrounding the body of the container and movable peripherally of the container and having an edge portion adjacent and substantially abutting said crosswise disposed edge portion of said label member, to be conned thereby against movement longitudinally of the container in one direction, indicating means on one of said members directed toward the other member, and spaced time indicating means on said other of said members whereby said label member and band member may be relatively positioned selectively, to show dosage periods, when said band member is moved peripherally of said container.

2. The combination with a container for medicinal preparations of a label member fixed to the outer surface of the body of the container and having a crosswise disposed top edge portion positioned below the Vtop of the container, a band membei` surrounding the body of the container above the top of said label member, and movable peripherally of the container and having an edge portion adjacent and substantially abutting said crosswise disposed top edge portion of said label member, to be conned thereby against movement downwardly of the container, indicatingmeans on one of said members directed toward the other member, and spaced me indicating means on said other of said members whereby said label member and band member may be relatively positioned selectively, to show dosage periods, when 'said band member is moved peripherally of said container.

3. The combination with a container for medicinal preparations of a label member xed to the outer surface of the body of the container and having a crosswise disposed edge portion positioned above the bottom of the container, a second label member xed to the body of the container and having a crosswise disposed edge portion separated from the said crosswise disposed edge portion of the rst mentioned label member by a space providing a bandlike channel between said two label members, a band member substantially as wide as said channel, surrounding the body of the container at said channel and, movable peripherally cf the container therein with its edges substantially engaged with said edge portions to be confined thereby against movement lengthwise of the container, spaced time indicatingmeans on one of said members and indicating means on one of said other members directed toward the member carrying the spaced time indicating means, whereby said label members and band member may be relatively pcsitioned selectively, to show dosage periods, when said band member is moved peripherally of said container.

4. In combination with the body of a container for medicinal preparations to be used atsuccessive periods of time, a label member arranged on they upper portion of said body, a second label member arranged on the lower portion of said body and having its upper edge separated from the lower edge of the rst label member by a space, one of said label members having an indicator pointer thereon, a band surrounding said body in and substantially as wide as said space and having its upper and lower edges operatively engaging said edges of said label members so as to be conned against undue'movement thereby 'lengthwise of said body, time indicating characters arranged longitudinally of, said band and Which is peripherally movable on said body to bring that time character indicating a particular time period of use into operative position relative to said indicating pointer to indicate the time for the next use of said preparation.

5. In combination with the body of a container for medicinal preparations to be used at successive periods of time, a label member arranged on the upper portion of said body, a second label member arranged on the lower portion of said body and having its upper edge spaced from'the lower edge of the first label member to provide JASPER S. ANNUNZIATA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,317,660 Carlson Sept. 30, 1919 1,781,055 Dudley Nov. 11, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 68,109 Germany Apr. 18, 1893 

